Japan tells diplomats no decision has been made on contaminated Fukushima water
Arirang News
2019-09-05
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Japan's foreign ministry invited foreign diplomats on Wednesday to discuss concerns over radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
There,... Tokyo said, it's still looking for ways to deal with the contaminated water.
Kim Da-mi has more.
More than eight years after the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown,... Japan still has no immediate plans for handling the contaminated water amid concerns the water may be dumped into the ocean.
Diplomats from 22 countries including South Korea and the U.S. gathered at Japan's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, where Tokyo only said it's still considering options for disposing the wastewater.
This is the first time in almost a year that Tokyo has invited foreign diplomats for a discussion on the topic.
The plant's operator said last month that it would run out of storage space for the wastewater in less than 3 years, which raised concerns globally about what would happen next.
The Japanese government explained that the wastewater generated in damaged reactor buildings is cleared of most radioactive materials.
But according to Greenpeace nuclear specialist Shaun Burnie, releasing 1 million tons of radioactive waste would increase the exposure to radiation in neighboring countries, especially South Korea.
He said it will take around 17 years for all the radioactive materials in the waste water to break down.
North Korea has also called on Japan to immediately cancel its plan to dump radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean.
Calling such an act a crime against humanity and a "nuclear disaster" for the Korean Peninsula and the world, North Korea urged Japan to listen to the global community.
South Korea last month summoned a senior official from the Japanese embassy in Seoul to ask about Tokyo’s stance on dealing with the Fukushima water.
But a Japanese Foreign Ministry official told reporters that briefings for diplomats on the topic have been held more than 100 times and that Wednesday's meeting with diplomats was to share the information from the latest government panel meeting in August.
Kim Da-mi, Arirang News.
There,... Tokyo said, it's still looking for ways to deal with the contaminated water.
Kim Da-mi has more.
More than eight years after the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown,... Japan still has no immediate plans for handling the contaminated water amid concerns the water may be dumped into the ocean.
Diplomats from 22 countries including South Korea and the U.S. gathered at Japan's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, where Tokyo only said it's still considering options for disposing the wastewater.
This is the first time in almost a year that Tokyo has invited foreign diplomats for a discussion on the topic.
The plant's operator said last month that it would run out of storage space for the wastewater in less than 3 years, which raised concerns globally about what would happen next.
The Japanese government explained that the wastewater generated in damaged reactor buildings is cleared of most radioactive materials.
But according to Greenpeace nuclear specialist Shaun Burnie, releasing 1 million tons of radioactive waste would increase the exposure to radiation in neighboring countries, especially South Korea.
He said it will take around 17 years for all the radioactive materials in the waste water to break down.
North Korea has also called on Japan to immediately cancel its plan to dump radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean.
Calling such an act a crime against humanity and a "nuclear disaster" for the Korean Peninsula and the world, North Korea urged Japan to listen to the global community.
South Korea last month summoned a senior official from the Japanese embassy in Seoul to ask about Tokyo’s stance on dealing with the Fukushima water.
But a Japanese Foreign Ministry official told reporters that briefings for diplomats on the topic have been held more than 100 times and that Wednesday's meeting with diplomats was to share the information from the latest government panel meeting in August.
Kim Da-mi, Arirang News.
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